By Shiby Parayil & Earl Villanueva, Ericsson North America
The ability to rapidly launch and operationalize new services is a critical success factor for Multi-Service Operators (MSOs) competing in the enterprise and business space. Software Defined Networking (SDN)and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) are key technology enablers for this. Deploying and managing the multi-vendor network cloud services is a very complex task due to the degree of change across virtualized service chains. Standards are still maturing, Virtual Network Function (VNF) vendors are releasing software and patches more frequently, and the components of the underlying NFV infrastructure are also subject to change. Managing these changes require a highly automated and integrated approach to network service orchestration and test automation. Ericsson has addressed these key challenges for our customers globally to accelerate the velocity of new service introduction.
Increasing the service velocity requires a holistic transformation for MSOs across many aspects of the MSO’s operating context. MSOs need to transform from a network centric organization to a customer centric organization. In line with this, there are two key indicators:
- Service Agility – resulting in quicker time to revenue
- Operational Efficiency- Reducing the CapEx costs by utilizing the network equipment better and leveraging automation for OpEx improvements.
In this paper, to achieve these key indicators, Ericsson shall focus on the processes, automation approach, and best practices and risk mitigation an operator must undertake. Ericsson shall also examine the phases of the transformation journey for the MSOs, and key considerations for the MSOs, to make a successful transition. Specifically, we examine how an operator can leverage an integrated orchestration and test automation solution framework that can significantly accelerate the service velocity of launching new enterprise services in an operationally efficient manner.